The Clearing
by Cody-kun
Summary: The clearing was Sasuke and Itachi's secret place. In the clearing, there were no such things as ninjas and duties and the harsh expectations of the clan. In the clearing, there was only Itachi and Sasuke and trees and birds and flowers and sunshine. Incest, fluff, mild lemon, oneshot, shota.


**If you're looking for something with actual plot, then you've come to the wrong place. This is really just a ton of fluff, with a rather _tame _sex scene thing. That's the only reason why it's rated M, heh. Well, that and language.**

**I don't have any idea why I wrote this aside from my rather obvious love of ItaSasu. But, here you go.  
**

**Warnings: Language, shota, mild lemony thing, some angst(?), incest.  
**

* * *

The clearing was Sasuke and Itachi's secret place. In the clearing, there were no such things as ninjas and duties and the harsh expectations of the clan. In the clearing, there was only Itachi and Sasuke and trees and birds and flowers and sunshine.

The first time they'd come to the clearing was on Sasuke's sixth birthday. The small boy had been sad all day because their parents were off on a mission and although he'd tried to hide it the best he could, his brave face had eventually cracked and he'd spent a good hour crying into his big brother's chest. Itachi couldn't bear to see his baby brother looking so forlorn with his tear-streaked cheeks and puffy red eyes; it was the boy's birthday, for crying out loud! Itachi had wracked his brain for any idea of how to cheer the boy up, and then it hit him.

The elder had been wandering around the woods a few days before, and had managed to come across a special place. Granted, the place itself wasn't necessarily _special_, but the sense of peace and happiness and tranquility that surrounded it was. It had stuck in his mind, and he'd made sure to memorize the way there.

"Hey, Otouto," the small raven began, "I know a place where your sadness will go away."

The even smaller raven had gazed up at his brother with a look of childish skepticism. Having been born into such a prestigious clan, Sasuke hadn't had the privilege of childish naivety. He'd been thrust into a cold, hard, ninja world before he'd even known what any of it meant. Death and destruction and disappointment weren't foreign to a child of the Uchiha, and Sasuke was no exception.

He really didn't want to get his hopes up- why should he? But he'd simply taken the hand his brother had offered to him and followed him out of their house and into the nearby woods. They'd walked for awhile- Sasuke had even tripped once or twice- but they eventually made it to an area of the woods where there were no trees. Sasuke's young eyes had widened in disbelief.

_What a beautiful place_, he had thought to himself.

The clearing wasn't very large, but it wasn't small. It was completely surrounded by trees, and they were so tall that they managed to shade a good portion of the area from the unforgiving rays of the sun. The trees didn't shield it completely, though, so gentle sunlight was still able to filter through the gaps in the foliage. The grass was the most vibrant shade of green Sasuke had ever seen in his whole six years of living, and he'd even had to bend down a pick a piece of it to make sure it was real. There was the calming sound of a stream flowing nearby. Birds chirped happily and cicadas cried all around, and Sasuke soon found that he simply wasn't very sad anymore.

"How did you find this?" He'd asked his big brother. Itachi simply shrugged and answered:

"I got lucky."

They'd spent the rest of the day in their secret place, simply laying side-by-side and enjoying each other's company. Sasuke had laughed freely, and all memories of his earlier sadness seemed to have been wiped from his mind.

"So, was I right?" The eldest had asked the youngest when they'd crawled into bed later that night.

"You're always right, Aniki." The small boy had responded before snuggling closer to the warmth of his big brother's chest. Itachi smiled gently and placed a soft kiss on Sasuke's temple.

"I love you, baby brother. Happy birthday."

* * *

They'd visited the clearing as often as they could after that, but as they grew older, Itachi's missions began to seriously interfere. Sasuke and Itachi were hardly able to spend any time together anymore.

"Aniki, will you train with me before you leave for your mission?" The boy had asked with poorly-concealed optimism.

Itachi had waved him over with a paw-like motion of his hand, and the younger boy had happily scampered towards the elder only to be met with a soft poke to the forehead.

"Tch," he grumbled as he clutched at his injury.

Itachi had shot him a sad smile. "I'm sorry, Sasuke. Maybe next time," he said.

Sasuke had simply rolled his eyes and trudged back inside. Darn his Nii-san for being so busy! He'd grumbled and pouted and even cried a little, but nothing seemed to help. He'd eventually curled up on his bed and fallen asleep- even though it was still the middle of the day- but was awoken by someone running their fingers through his short raven hair. The boy had leant into the touch; it felt quite nice to be woken so gently, after all.

"Sasuke," the voice had whispered, "how about we go to the clearing?"

The younger's eyelashes fluttered open, and it took his eyes a moment to focus in on the face of his older brother. He blinked a couple of times in confusion. What was his Nii-san doing back so early?

"Why are you here?"

"I decided to take a couple days off so we could spend some time together."

Sasuke blushed at this. His big brother really did that for him? And to think he'd been so angry earlier! The tiny raven had jolted upright in bed- although his vision went spotty for a moment- and pulled his Aniki into the tightest hug he could manage.

"Thank you, Itachi-nii."

They'd gone to the clearing soon after, and even stayed until it had gotten dark. It had gotten slightly chilly as the sun had gone down, so both boys were huddled together for warmth. Neither of them minded, though.

"You're so warm," Sasuke mumbled into his big brother's shirt.

Itachi chuckled, and hugged the boy closer to himself. His heart swelled with love for his little brother. How could he show Sasuke how much he truly loved him?

"Sasuke?"

"Hm?"

Itachi pulled away slightly from the younger so they could gaze at each other, and brought a hand up to stroke at the soft skin of his cheek. He had then leant in slightly, just enough for their lips to lightly brush together, before pulling away once again.

"I love you," he said with a slight chuckle as he saw the expression on Sasuke's face. The poor boy had to have been beet-red, although it was difficult to tell in the moonlight.

"You...kissed me," Sasuke said. He may have only been nine, but he knew that was something brothers weren't supposed to do! Itachi frowned a little. Did he upset Sasuke?

"I'm sorry, Sasuke, I-"

"No," the boy began whilst shaking his head. He looked from Itachi's eyes to his lips and back a couple of times, his face growing hotter by the second. "Do it again." He finished in a whisper.

Itachi smiled and once again cupped Sasuke's cheek with his hand. "I love you, baby brother," he said as he pressed their lips together.

* * *

"Itachi, train with me!"

Itachi tsked and shook his head. "You're so needy," he chuckled as he leaned in to peck his baby brother on the lips, "in more ways than one," he'd added as an afterthought.

Sasuke sputtered and began blushing furiously. "Jerk." He muttered under his breath. Leave it to his brother to bring up something so embarrassing! Itachi smiled once again and leant in to place a chaste kiss on his kid brother's temple.

"All you've been doing is training lately, Sasuke. How about we do something else?"

"Like sparring?"

"That also counts as training, baby brother."

"Stop calling me that! I'm nine, y'know."

"Yes, I do know," the elder chuckled, "but how about we go to the clearing? We haven't been there for awhile."

Sasuke had shrugged with a pout. Well, at least he'd be able to spend time with his Nii-san. The boy's pout was soon replaced by a soft smile, and he nodded. "I guess that would be nice."

So they'd gone to the clearing and simply sat there and cuddled. Eventually, that turned into soft kisses, which turned into making out, which turned into them practically yanking clothes off of each other.

"See? You really are needy," Itachi had chuckled as he prepared his brother.

"Y-you're so...ahh...mean."

Then Itachi curled his fingers the perfect way, which caused Sasuke to moan loudly. The younger began bucking back on Itachi's fingers, only for them to be removed. Sasuke whined slightly at the loss; although, he'd probably deny he ever did such a thing.

"Are you ready?"

The younger nodded as his legs were hoisted onto Itachi's shoulders. He sucked in his breath quickly, and soon his brother was inside. Sasuke yelped. Though his small body had gotten used to being breached this way, it still hurt a good bit.

"Shh, Sasuke," the elder whispered as he peppered Sasuke's face with light kisses. "Just relax."

The small boy nodded, and soon Itachi pulled out slightly and thrust back in. He repeated this until Sasuke began making those little noises of pleasure that Itachi loved so much. Two bodies moved as one, and all that could be heard were the soft moans and groans of their lovemaking in this secret place.

"Ahh~ Nii-san!" The boy moaned as his brother continued to hit that special spot inside him.

"I love you, Otouto," the elder panted.

"I-I love you, too- ahh!"

Both brothers then reached their completion, and then slumped over to try and catch their breath.

"I love you," Itachi muttered once again as he placed butterfly kisses on whatever area of exposed skin he could find. Sasuke had already fallen asleep, much to the elder's amusement, and he pulled out of him gently and pulled the younger closer to his body. He decided they could nap for a bit before going home.

Besides, this was their last night together.

* * *

After the massacre, Sasuke was completely heartbroken. His brother- his _lover_- had betrayed him and taken away everything the small boy had ever known.

Years passed, and Sasuke never once returned to the clearing. The place was too painful for him to even think about, and he knew going there would hurt more than anything. But, one night- the night before he left the village to go to Orochimaru- he decided to pay it one last visit. He'd figured that perhaps it would fuel his hatred more; that, or maybe he simply wanted to see the place one last time.

The boy had no trouble finding it, considering how many times he'd come here when he was younger. The place looked the same as always, except instead of happiness, all he felt was incredible emptiness and loneliness. He didn't want to remember all the times he'd spent with his brother. He didn't want to remember all the lies he'd whispered in his ear while they...

Sasuke hadn't even noticed when he'd fallen to his knees. He reached one small hand up to wipe at his cheek, and noticed there was wetness there. Was he crying? ...He hadn't cried since that night. Sasuke was thankful no one was around to see him, the last of the Uchiha, doing something so...human. So _weak_.

He was too caught up in his thoughts to even hear the soft footsteps behind him. He didn't even glance up to regard the figure that was looming above him until it spoke.

"Sasuke..."

The boy's head jerked up then, his eyes watery and red. A look of shock crossed his face before it morphed into one of pure rage. His hand moved with blinding speed to try and reach for a kunai, but the older ninja easily leant down and caught it.

"Bastard," the boy spat. "You stupid, fucking bastard!" He was crying fresh tears now, although he wanted nothing more than to appear strong before his enemy.

"Sasuke," the teenager said almost sadly, "why did you come here?"

Sasuke's eyes widened. What was he supposed to tell him? That a sense of nostalgia had washed over him and he just wanted to see this place one more time before he left the village for good? Itachi would probably just laugh.

So Sasuke remained silent, and simply glared at the older raven. They had a bit of a glaring contest, until finally:

"Why are _you _here, _A-ni-ki?_" He pronounced each syllable of that nickname with as much distaste as he could muster.

"I come here sometimes," Itachi began quietly, "it reminds me of...better days."

Sasuke snarled at him. "Yeah, before you ruined _everything._"

Itachi's neutral expression cracked just a fraction before he swiftly pulled Sasuke upwards and to his chest.

"I'm sorry," he breathed.

Sasuke's eyes widened in shock. What had gotten into his brother? No, he couldn't really be sorry. He wasn't hugging him. He wasn't playing with his hair like he used to. He wasn't human. He wasn't...he wasn't...

"Nii-san," the small boy sobbed into his brother's chest.

"Shh, Sasuke. I'm here." He whispered.

Sasuke continued to whimper and cry for what seemed like hours. He hit Itachi's chest, swore at him, told him he was going to kill him, said he hated him, until finally he ran out of tears and insults. Now, all he was left with were questions.

The boy pulled away slightly so he could peer up at his elder brother. Itachi's expression may have seemed unreadable to others, but Sasuke could see the slight downward turn of his lips and almost_ feel_ the terrible sadness in his deep obsidian eyes.

So, Itachi was human after all.

"Why," Sasuke croaked out, "why did you do it?"

Itachi's expression cracked the slightest bit more. "I've already told you why, Sasuke."

"I don't believe you. The Itachi I knew never would have...never would have..." He could feel fresh tears welling up in his eyes, but he tried his hardest to will them away.

"Baby brother," Itachi said as he cupped Sasuke's face with the hands that had stolen everything away on that terrible night. He gently wiped at any tears that had managed to slip out with his calloused thumbs. The small boy leant into his big brother's touch; he hadn't realized just how much he'd missed it.

"Aniki..." There was no contempt this time.

Itachi leant in slowly; he didn't want to startle his brother. He paused once there were mere centimeters between their lips. "I'm sorry," he whispered. Then he kissed him.

Sasuke's eyes remained open. There was a small part of him that was screaming to run away, move, do _something_ to get away from this man he was supposed to hate, but he felt frozen in place. Once Itachi's soft lips began gently massaging Sasuke's, he couldn't keep his eyes from slipping closed or his hand from drifting into his brother's long raven tresses. He pulled the tie out of his brother's hair, then laced his fingers through it. Before the boy was really aware of what he was doing, he'd begun kissing back fervently.

"Mmm," Itachi moaned into the kiss when he felt Sasuke tug lightly on his hair. He'd missed his baby brother so _much._

The elder licked along Sasuke's bottom lip, and the boy had happily parted them to let Itachi's tongue through. Sasuke's tongue met Itachi's as well, and they danced with each other slowly, sensually, before both brothers were forced to part for air. They just looked at each other for awhile; their eyes were searching frantically for what the other was thinking.

Sasuke eventually averted his eyes and leant into his brother's chest. He just wanted Itachi to hold him. The elder rubbed soothing circles on the younger raven's back. They stood there in silence for a few minutes, before Sasuke once again decided he wanted answers.

"Why?" He asked once again. He sounded much more calm than he had before; listening to his brother's steady breathing had seemed to soothe him.

Itachi heaved a sigh. "I can't tell you why, Sasuke."

Sasuke peered up at him with wide, pleading eyes. "Please?" He begged.

Itachi's eyebrows furrowed. His mask was chipping away more and more and more, until it shattered completely.

"Alright," he said finally, "but this may take a while."

* * *

**I don't even know what this was. I think I just wanted fluff, okay. I SUPPLIED MYSELF WITH FLUFF.**

**Gah, review and favorite if you somehow enjoyed this? Thanks for reading c:**


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